Game



Aug. 26, 1941. A. T. LINNEY 2,254,154

I GAME Filed Dec. 24, 1940 f INVENTOR /I fw-7' ATT NEY Patented Aug. 26, 1941 GAME Albert T. Linney, Lexington, Ky.

Application December 24, 1940, Serial No. 371,484

Y 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-115) This invention relates to a puzzle game and more particularly to the housing assembly or the container for a puzzle game having a plurality ofl holes to be lled with balls.

An object of this invention is to provide a housing or container for a puzzle game that is easily assembled, cheap in construction, one which lends itself to mass production and at the same time is eiiicient, dependable |and neat in appearance;

Another object of this invention is to provide a housing having a bottom portion 4and a top portion arranged in interlocking relation with each other.

Another object of this invention is to resiliently interlock a window portion with a housing for the balls.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the container with the parts therein in lassembled relation.

Fgure 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the window and its frame.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the base portion with the window and its frame removed.

The use of a game having a plurality of loose balls in a container having depressions or recesses in various formations in the bottom thereof is notoriously old. This broad idea has been incorporated' into a novel device disclosed herein. This device includes an annular base portion simulating the bottom of a cosmetic box. This box is provided with a disc having perforations therein underlying the balls to be adjusted, so as to seat the balls in the perforations. The perforated member and the balls are held in position and made visible through a window secured to an annular ring telescopically disposed with respect to the wall of the bottom portion and resiliently held in position in interlocking manner, so that the window and its frame, consisting of the annular ring, may be preassembled and snapped into position during the assembly operation, as will appear more fully in connection with the description of the drawing which follows.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character IIJ indicates the base of an annular boxlike member provided with an annular upstand ing wall portion I2. The annular wall portion or flange portion I2 isheld in position by a strip of paper I4, adhesively secured to the v'sides of the wall and folded around theperiphery of the base I0, so as to terminate in an inwardly di` rected flange portion I 4a on the `under side of the baise portion I'. A second strip of'paper. I6 1s adhesivelyV secured to the outside of the strip I4 and overlaps the top of the wall portion I2, so as to terminate in a downwardly directed, inwardly disposed flange portion or Vfold I 6a.

For the purpose of ornamentation, the strip i4 may have a color diiferent from the color of the strip I6. For example, the strip I4 may be red and the strip I6 white. `This makes a neat appearing base portion for the container for the game. Y An apertured annular target member consiste ing of a perforated pieceof cardboard 2U, having a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the wall I2, is placed on top of the base portion I.- The perforations 20a in this cardboard form` recesses or goals for the balls 22, loosely placed on top of the perforated cardboard 20.

This cardboard, together with the balls, is held in position by a window assembly forming the cover or the closure for the base portion. Thls window assembly includes a duo-functional annular ring Sil, made of paper or any other suitable fibrous material. This ring supports a transparent window member 32, which may consist of Cellophane, or any other suitable transparent material. This piece of transparent material is also annular and cut somewhat larger than the maximum diameter of the ring 3B, so

that the `fold or flange 32a of the window member 32 is folded down over the outside of the annular ring 30 and secured thereto by suitable adhesive material. The Width of the fold or ange 32a. is slightly less than half of the maximum height of the annular ring 30. This annular ring 3U, in addition to supporting the window member 32, also clamps the target 2! against the bottom I0.

A resilient garter ring or band 35 encircles the ring 3Q and is positioned directly below the lower edge of the fold or flange 32a. This garter ring or b-and 3S is held in position by a strip of paper 33, adhesively attached to the outside of the ring and overlaps the flange 32a. This strip of paper 38 holds the band 3S in position. 'I'he outer diameter of the ring 30, together with the strip 38, is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the wall IZ.

After the perforated piece of cardboard 2'0 and the balls have been positioned' in the bottom of the base portion, the window assembly is forced into position. 'I'he band 36, during the insertion of the window assembly, is compressed, and as the window is forced into home position, the band 36 and the ridge or rib formed in the strip 38 are seated directly below the lower edge of the ange IBa, which functions as a stop or a shoulder, so that the ange IBa cooperates with the band and the encircling strip 38 to hold the window assembly in home position. When the parts have been assembled, the parts are interlocked, so that they will not come apart without the use of an instrument for separating the parts and if |an instrument is used, in all probability it will mutilate the parts. By the use of this structure, it is possible to purchase the base portion from box manufacturers, or to make the base portion, manufacture the window member separately and then insert the window member in the base portion without the use of cement or other adhesive material.

Instead of having the window frame snapped into position within the wall of the base member, these parts may be telescopically arranged in such a manner that the ring of the window frame is located outside of the wall of the base member. This could be accomplished by merely reversing the arrangement of the parts, so that the resilient band member would then surround the wall portion I2, instead of the ring 3D.

From this it is apparent that the finished product is neat in `appearance and at the same time, cheap, dependable and eicient. When the parts have been assembled, the object of the game is to joggle the container in such a manner that the balls are placed in the recesses formed by the apertures in the annular piece of cardboard located in the bottom of the container and held in position by the bottom edge of the ring 30 of the window frame.

Although the preferred modification of the 5 device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combinaton thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A puzzle game housing a plurality of balls, said game including a bottom portion provided with an upwardly directed annular wall portion, said upwardly directed wall portion including a strip of material terminating in a fold overlap- Ping the top edge of the wall and forming a downwardly directed flange terminating in an inner edge located between the top of the wall and the bottom thereof, an annular target member having a plurality of recesses, said target member having a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of said Wall `and snugly fitting within the wall and seated below said inner edge, a window assembly telescopically disposed with respect to the wall, said window assembly including a transparent member, a duofunctional ring for supporting the transparent member, and resilient interlocking means surrounding the ring, said resilient interlocking means being located immediately below the inner edge so that this edge cooperates with the interlocking means to clamp the annular target between the lower edge of the duo-functional ring and said bottom portion.

ALBERT T. LINNEY. 

